Pizza Rant #2: The Deep Dish Pizza Conundrum

For a few weeks now, I’ve been pondering the possibility of reproducing an acceptible version of a Chicago Deep Dish Pizza at home. I’ve been searching for pizza dough recipes (There’s a minor controversy about corn meal; I’ll write about that later), and I’ve also been looking for the proper pans to bake them in. Then the Obama thing happened (he ordered deep dish from St. Louis. Read Pizza Rant #1) and I figured I should start blogging about my minor culinary quest.

DEEP DISH PIZZA… THE PAN
After a bit of exhaustive research, I’ve done it. I’ve ordered some deep dish pizza pans. From my google-assisted investigation, I’ve learned that tin-plated steel* is the way to go (aluminized steel is even better) instead of plain aluminum, as the steel is supposed to make the pan stronger and the aluminum/tin helps to distribute heat better for more even baking of a larger pizza.

There are a few brands out there that sell deep dish pizza pans, which are really no more than large heavy-gauge metal cake pans. If you’re in a hurry and don’t want to do the research, you can easily find one on Amazon or Ebay by searching for ‘deep dish pizza pan’, and you could go with the ‘Chicago Metallic UNO Deep Dish Pizza Set‘ combo pack which includes a 12″ round 2″ deep aluminized steel deep dish pan, a serving/cutting spatula, and a book with recipes for about $16.

A small word of caution: Although this is a great deal whether you got the recipe book or not, I don’t know if I would trust the recipes, as the Uno Chicago Grill restaurants around the country don’t quite make an authentic deep dish like their namesake at the original Pizzeria Uno in downtown Chicago. The franchises all over the country serve a pizza-hut-inspired version of a deep dish pizza, which is tasty enough, but really doesn’t qualify if you’re looking for authentic Chicago deep dish. For that, you need to go to Pizzeria Uno or Pizzeria Due which are owned by the same people and are located about a block away from each other, or have a par-baked pizza shipped to you frozen from Lou Malnati’s which you can bake in your oven… or make it yourself (which I am attempting to do). The last option is obviously the most difficult and it’s going to take a bit of trial and error and a lot of research to learn the truths about making authentic deep dish pizza. The first step of course, is getting the right pan. Let’s continue…

The REAL Pizzeria Uno in Chicago (not the franchised knockoff).

I wanted to see if I could find a 14″ pan, which is the same size as a large pizza from Lou Malnati’s or Pizzeria Uno. A more extensive search on Amazon found me a company called AMCO that makes aluminized steel pans. The deep dish pan is actually a ’round cake pan‘ which might make it difficult to find if you’re searching for a ‘pizza pan’. You can also find the reliable Chicago Metallic brand, who make all kinds of pans, including a deep dish pizza pan with a non-stick coating. I’m a baking masochist, so I skipped the non-stick easy solution and ended up ordering two AMCO – 12″ pans and one 14″ pan, which are like the ones that the restaurants use*. I also ordered a couple ‘pan grippers’, which are these little clamp handles that they use to grab the pizza pans out of the oven. If you’re wondering why the pictures of the pans show bright silver colored pans, when you often see a darker or even black colored pan at the restaurants, it is because the restaurant pans are well ‘seasoned’ from continual use. These pans will get darker the more I use them.

So while I wait for the pans I ordered to arrive, I will work on the next step: THE CRUST. (to be continued)

*update 4-25: a quick note – the AMCO pans i ordered from Amazon are aluminized steel (not tin) with a silicone coating (so I guess they actually are non-stick after all). Actual tin-plated bakeware darkens the more it is used; aluminum typically does not, but the coating on these pans is supposed to darken the more you use it. I’ve learned that tin melts at 450 degrees, which is why it was replaced by aluminum in bakeware.

**update & correction 1-28-2018:I had previously mentioned that tin melts around 450 (449.4, if we’re being exact) degrees F and that tin bakeware is not likely being made any more. I’ve learned that tin-plated bakeware is still being made, and while it’s true that tin melts at 450, it doesn’t necessarily melt when baking a pizza in a tin-plated pan because the pizza (or whatever you’re baking in the pan) contains moisture that acts as a heat-sink, sucking heat from the pan so it never reaches that melting point. Steel and aluminum both have higher melting points, so if either were tin plated, the steel or aluminum would also assist in preventing the melting of the tin.

Photos and images used on this website are property of their originators or copyright holders. Original content created for RealDeepDish.com is property of its creator. Food photos may be available for sale or license.

Often, people type “best deep dish pizza recipe” or “best chicago deep dish recipe” or “best chicago style deep dish recipe” or “authentic chicago deep dish” or “easy deep dish” or “real deep dish” into their search engine, and although I think the recipe on this site is a pretty darn good representation of the style, it’s really up to you to decide whether this is a good deep dish or a very good deep dish or a great deep dish or the best deep dish. Sometimes people just want to know how to make deep dish pizza dough & other times they just want to bake the best deep dish pizza at home that they can. Many think the Chicago Style Pizza Recipe is closest to Lou Malnati’s, but sometimes misspell it as Malnotti and others think it’s closer to PIzzeria Uno or Pizzeria Due, but it’s not really like Gino’s East, and it certainly is nothing like Uno’s Chicago Grill, and hopefully we can show you why in the DeepDish 101 section of the site. In any case, my website ramblings have probably increased the chances of you finding a good place to start learning about Chicago Style Pizza, so welcome and good luck on your quest for ultimate deep dish pizza happiness! And hey, if deep dish isn’t your thing, you can give Chicago Thin Crust Pizza a try, which some people also call “bar pizza”, “tavern pizza”, “square cut” or “box cut” because there’s a thin crust recipe too!